Bootcamp Team HandyHat Takes Product to Ole Miss's National Business Model Competition
On Oct. 30, 2025, the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Mississippi will host the “Servin’ the South” Business Model Competition that is open to every university student in the country. This in-person competition will take place at the Jackson Avenue Center.
Colleges and universities from around the mid-south are invited to have their best student teams to compete for the top prize of $10,000. Each team will have an opportunity to present their business model in front of a panel of diverse judges.
All student teams, anywhere in the country, who meet the eligibility requirements nationwide are invited to submit their application, Ole Miss has specifically invited 60 higher-education institutions in Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Alabama.
The University of Kentucky was represented by student founder and Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship Bootcamp graduate, Wyatt Hench. Wyatt pitched his startup, HandyHat, which is a magnetized ballcap designed to snap small tools and screws for quicker access. Wyatt is an undergraduate student seeking his degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Stanely & Karen Pigman College of Engineering.
"The Servin’ the South competition was an incredible opportunity to pitch HandyHat and connect with other student innovators and judges. It was fun, inspiring, and a great way to grow as an entrepreneur." - Wyatt Hench, Founder of HandyHat
Steve Grantham, a Jackson resident and graduate of the UM School of Business Administration, has given $60,000 to fund the competition, which awards the nation's best college student innovators up to $10,000 toward their LLC or university foundation.
"I love seeing the new ideas," said Grantham, whose business, the J&R Restaurant Group, is an annual sponsor of the competition. "I always had an entrepreneurial spirit and it's very exciting and interesting to me to see these young people have that same spirit: a desire to go out and build a business that coincides with what's going on in their generation."
Grantham, who owns eight Outback Steakhouse restaurants across the South, serves on the center's board of directors and has helped judge the competition.
